One Step Ahead, Audrey Walker [best book club books of all time TXT] 📗

this about him? Where would I be now? Definitely not in love, that I can tell you.”

“I guess you have a point,” Robin said. “But still, it’s nothing for you to worry about. Not yet anyway. If something happens, I promise, you will be the first to know.”

“I am so drunk!” Abby said, laughing. “I don’t think I should have anymore.”

“You? I am so drunk I can barely stand! And I am a Detective!” Robin said, and the two girls burst out laughing.

“Hey, Abby –” Robin started to say, but a horrifying scream cut her off.

“What?” Abby stammered.

“That sounded like Lucy,” Robin said and then darted out of the building. She followed Lucy’s scream to the thick vegetation that surrounded the ancient building and found her a little distance away.

“Lucy? What is it?” Robin shouted.

“That –” Lucy said, trembling as she pointed to the floor. “That –”

Robin followed her finger and had to take a breath to steady herself.

In front of her was another body.

Chapter Five

“Our fourth victim is Josie West,” Andrews said. “She was a single woman who lived alone in Westside and worked at a local bookshop. She had been dead for five hours before Lucy found her at Abby’s bridal shower. Everything matches completely with all the other investigations. The similar resemblance to Robin, the tattoo, and the same MO. We even found a message.”

“Promise.”

“Unlike other messages, this is one word,” James said. “Clearly, the killer is fixated on some promise he believes Robin has made. It is, of course, clear that the Executioner is highly intelligent and someone of a genius level. He obviously suffers from some trauma and sees a connection with Robin that he doesn’t see with anyone else. It is possible that he is an orphan, or perhaps came from an abusive family.”

“How do you know all this?” Kyle asked.

“At the FBI, we have experts who profile the criminal for us,” James said. “But the deductions are fairly obvious, aren’t they?”

Kyle crossed his arms across his chest and glared at him in response.

“Well, some people clearly don’t possess even passable intellect,” James whispered into Robin’s ear, and she giggled. Kyle glared at her, and she stopped before saying, “So, will you explain, James? Or are you going to keep your secrets to yourself?”

“Well, how can I refuse when someone as delightful as you ask?” James said. “He has formed an unnatural emotional attachment to Robin, probably after a single interaction with her. It shows that the killer lacks any other connection in his life, so he never knew the parents or a family's love. He is so starved for affection that whatever Robin offered, he lapped up. It might be a very insignificant act. Maybe some stranger that Robin gave water to once. Some kid she helped get up or some woman she smiled at. Some small act or promise that she made has the killer obsessed because it is the only warmth he has ever received. He is a genius; otherwise how else would he have committed such perfect murders? Just look at it. The only clues we find are the ones he wants us to find. He is also someone very determined because he knows things about Robin’s life that no one else does, like the tattoo. So. he has done years and years of research into all this.”

“You keep saying he,” Andrews said. “What if it’s a she?”

“Look at the style of murder,” James said. “Head severed, the body buried or hanged. This won’t be easy for a woman. So, balance out the probability, and I can say it’s probably a male.”

“Remarkable,” Robin said.

“Hardly,” Kyle said. “Simple deduction.”

“And yet, you failed to figure it out,” James said.

“I don’t have to take this,” Kyle grumbled, getting up. “Robin, you coming?”

“I –” Robin said, hesitating. “James asked me out to drinks.”

Kyle glared at her, looking betrayed, and then marched off as Robin sighed.

“I thought you said he was your closest friend?” James asked.

“He is,” Robin said.

“He doesn’t act like it,” James said, frowning. “To be honest, he doesn’t even act like your friend.”

__

“My parents were both rather loving and caring,” Robin said. “Abby barely even remembers them. I do, though, and I cherish every single memory. They died when I was very small in a car accident. When they left, we had no one. No relative. We were all alone. We were put into a foster home after foster home, and I had to look out for both of us. So, I had to learn to be an adult when I was quite young. I had to protect and look out for Abby. I can’t tell you how proud I am of the woman she has become.”

“And what about yourself?” James asked.

Robin took a sip of her drink and said, “I am happy. I am fine. I became a Detective because I wanted to help people. Now, there are women out there dying because they happen to look like me, and I can’t do anything about it. I am a big help, huh?”

“Don’t say that,” he said softly. “You are a good detective. And I think you have done a wonderful job so far. I know how much you want to help those women.”

“I wish I knew who it was,” Robin said. “I wish I remembered. I know it’s someone from my past. Someone I have met once. But I can’t remember. I don’t remember anything that happened to me at the Butcher’s. Just snippets of memories. I wish I could remember it. I can’t shake off the feeling that is where the answer lies.”

“I see,” James said. “And what does Abby think of all this?”

“Abby? Abby wants me off the task force,” Robin said, sighing. “She and I have a bit of a tense relationship. She is after me to quit the case ever since we found the last body.”

“I think it’s just because she loves you,” James said.

“You are right,” Robin said gloomily. “She is getting married soon. She